Creator of online money Liberty Reserve gets 20 years in prison … Before the virtual currency Bitcoin there was Liberty Reserve — and its founder just got sentenced to 20 years in prison. Arthur Budovsky, 42, ran an online digital money business out of Costa Rica called Liberty Reserve. The U.S. government contended that the whole thing was just a massive, $6 billion money laundering operation. – CNN

Sentence by sentence, the US judiciary is creating its own version of the constitution.

It is one that forbids people from creating online marketplaces or even putting silver into coins and selling them.

Most recently, as we can see above, Arthur Budovsky, founder of Liberty Reserve just got 20 years in prison for allegedly running a money laundering operation.

Prior to Budovsky’s sentencing, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Sllk Road, received a life sentence for founding and running a “darknet” marketplace that allowed people to buy illegal items like drugs and guns. Ulbricht is appealing.

Before Budovksy and Ulbricht, there was US-based Bernard von NotHaus who invented the Liberty Dollar which contained actual silver, unlike current US coins.

NotHaus encouraged buyers to use the coins as money and the US government prosecuted him for trying to undermine US currency. He was sentenced to six months of home detention and three years of probation, which apparently was later reduced.

Let’s not forget about Kim Dotcom in New Zealand. The US government has been trying to extradite him for years on charges of encouraging copyright infringement with his once extremely popular company Megaupload.

Dotcom remains un-extradited and even started a new company, Mega – though Dotcom is now fighting with Mega’s management. He’s also subject to rumors that he organized the Panama Papers leak – though that seems unlikely.

What ties all these cases together? Basically, the individuals involved have been attacked for what took place on platforms they provided.

This is surely a complex and dangerous area. It is one that goes to the heart of modern Western justice and especially US jurisprudence.

Modern justice increasingly holds some people responsible for crimes committed by others. The idea is that if you know that someone might be committing a crime, you may be as culpable as the person actually acting.

In all four cases mentioned above, the US government attacked entrepreneurs (mostly) for the activities of those who used their services.

This line of attack is dangerous because if you extend it, you end up in a position where both government and mainstream corporations can be attacked on the same grounds.

What about a car company that puts an extremely strong engine in an undersized car? Are company executives culpable for accidents that may occur?

What about someone who runs a bar and offers free or discount drinks? (Indeed, the bar-tender, and then presumably the owner, may be culpable in this modern era of precedent justice.)

The US government prosecutes innumerable wars and many times “mistakes” are made and drones drop bombs on wedding parties instead of “terrorist” gatherings.

Are those responsible for the deaths of innocents prosecutable? Former President George Bush has trouble traveling overseas because there are groups trying to arrest him for war crimes.

How about Lyndon Johnson whose administration fabricated the Gulf of Tonkin incident and started the escalation of the Vietnamese war? Millions died. Are he or his associates culpable?

What about modern bank manipulations of gold, which have likely cost investors billions and even trillions over the past decades? What about the stock manipulations of the Plunge Protection team?

What about CIA false flag operations or drug smuggling?

US jurisprudence is obviously selective. It takes aim at those that pose a threat to the “system,” especially the monetary system where most power resides.

Yes, those who use modern technology to create successful online businesses that circumvent the control of modern nation-states will continue to be attacked. But the “bigger picture” provides a different perspective.

As we pointed out just the other day (and in the other article in this issue as well), modern jurisprudence and its prison-industrial complex are increasingly controversial. As people find out more, disapproval grows.

Trust in government, along with judicial processes, are at an all-time low. This is not an aberration but a trend resulting from the Internet – and the information residing on it.

More from CNN, above:

In a prepared statement, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said: “The significant sentence handed down today shows that money laundering through the use of virtual currencies is still money laundering, and that online crime is still crime.”

Another attorney commented:

“Despite all his efforts to evade prosecution, including taking his operations offshore and renouncing his citizenship, Budovsky has now been held to account for his brazen violations of U.S. criminal laws,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

These individuals are referring to “crimes” that weren’t even considered as such 40 or 50 years ago. Modern precedent justice, it seems, will eventually end up with everybody either in jail or on their way there.

Meanwhile, the best justice remains ad hoc and private. This kind of justice was likely applied for tens of thousands of years before modern Common Law and Admiral Law.

We may not soon return to private justice, in which aggrieved individuals confronted each other directly instead of through state mechanisms. But the current system is shot-through with logical contradictions and obvious fallacies. It will surely continue to sink in the public’s estimation.

As the system dies, its results will seem increasingly promotional. Already prominent proceedings (such as the ones mentioned at the beginning of this article) begin to resemble “show trials.”

In fact, this is the inevitable result of an increasingly corrupt system being used to protect institutional prerogatives rather than the “rule of law.”

Conclusion: The system’s decline will generate increased chaos and social dysfunction. Stay away from it as much as you can, even when you are tempted to use it. This already corrupt system is getting worse.

You don’t have to play by the rules of the corrupt politicians, manipulative media, and brainwashed peers.

When you subscribe to The Daily Bell, you also get a free guide:

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The sooner it sinks the better. I’m astounded sitting around coffee listening to the wisdom of “conservative” professors. Their ignorance is so astounding it is downright scary to even think what “liberal” professors might be emoting.

LawrenceNeal

Anyone with eyes that is willing to see, knows that the regime in Washington is a bully power structure, hiding behind the illusion of truth, justice and fair play. Any individual that challenges their dominance risks prison, any leader assassination and the destruction of their country.

Bruce C.

For some reason I don;t think that will happen this time.

olde reb

Let us first make a clarification: the power structure to fear is Wall Street operating the CIA and the US military to enforce IMF, World Bank, WTO, various treaty enforcement bodies, etc. The US government is their tool. Ref. John Perkins in ECONOMIC HIT MAN or DEVIL’S CHESSBOARD by David Talbot for starters.

Bruce believes they will not assassinate rulers ? Or destroy nations ? Bruce needs to read. Start with PLAUSIBLE DENIAL by Mark Lane; HIGH TREASON by John Groden; JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE by James Douglass; ACT OF TREASON by
Mark North; for the JFK killing. DEADLY DECEITS by Ralph McGehee; THE SECRET TEAM by Fletcher Prouty; CIA ATROCITIES by Steve Kangas; KILLING HOPE by William Blum among many others books on the CIA including the 9/11 “terrorist” act.

Bruce C.

This may sound odd but I frankly don’t remember what I was thinking when I wrote that. Truth is I am very afraid of a Trump assassination. However, I think what might protect him somewhat is that a lot of people are attuned to that and the fact that “the Establishment” is so opposed to the changes he might want to make and so it could be hard to pull off POLITICALLY in that physically killing him is one thing but stopping “the movement” is another. They could actually create more problems for themselves. They need people to be compliant and unaware and public awareness is rising and as I’ve said before if Trump can’t make some changes for whatever reason (assassination included) then that could be the last straw and there could be a a revolution of some kind that probably would not go the way “they” would want. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.

olde reb

Bruce, I believe I hear you saying that Trump will not rock the boat if he is elected. I agree. He and his dad have played the game all their lives. He has too much to lose. Platitudes as a candidate does not mean actions as
a president. Just ask Obama.

Change in the US will have to come as in Greece; demonstrations in the streets. The masses are
already submitting to an unconstitutional levy on their pursuit of a livelihood (protected as a Right under the clause of Liberty and therefor not taxable, but then again, Title 26 has no statute that imposes an income tax on citizens.) Ref.http://www.usa-the-republic.com/revenue/liberty/index.html

When the government starts seizing pensions, and bank deposits, and toilet paper is unavailable, maybe then the masses will awake. If not, Haiti will become our lifestyle.

Bruce C.

As far as Trump, I don’t know what he knows. He may actually be naive about how sinister some of the forces are out there. He may think everybody is ultimately reasonable and just wants to make a deal. He also may be fairly clueless about monetary issues and central banking, etc. My hope is that even if that’s true he may be more like a “Forrest Gump” (I hate that analogy but I think you know what I mean) and do things in a kind of innocent or business-like way and it actually works because the PTB don’t know how to deal with it. Trump may be hard to intimidate or scare, and that’s their usual modus.

I think it’s pretty sick that we have to talk about things like this. There are ways to keep the narcissists and sociopaths out of power positions but right now they’re already there so let’s hope for the best.

rahrog

So true. Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and Syria are all excellent examples of what happens to people who don’t play ball with the money launderers of NYC & DC. Rule of Law has completely broken down.

LawrenceNeal

Rule of law has only ever applied to the masses, never to the Elite.

Philosopher

Excellent article and information.

Praetor

And worse! We are at that moment in time that many have had to live through before. We had better be prepared. The so called good time are gone, and the bad times are a beginning. I’d say its time to forget the why’s and what for and when. Just be prepared for anything.

Disassociate yourselves as much as possible from their system. Become an individual that only needs yourself to survive. Be prepared to stay if possible or run if needed. One thing don’t forget to take your family with you:). You will need them!!!!

No Thanks

I always expected the same for the creators of the taxi license evasion apps.